What is Mastodon? Mastodon is an open-source microblogging network very similar to Twitter. You can make 500 characters post messages called toot (tweet), share videos or images, and follow other people. But unlike Twitter, Mastodon is decentralized, meaning the entire Mastodon is not run by a single company pulling all strings.
Mastodon can be used directly in your web browser or through a mobile client on a smartphone or tablet. It includes features that seem copied from Twitter-like replies, boosts (retweets), favorites (loves), a timeline view, blocking, and voluntary content warnings that hide sensitive content.
Mastodon also has some great features that Twitter does not have like automated post deletion for the older post of a certain age, requiring approval for follows without restricting your account, and opting out of search engine indexing.
Currently, there are also no ads on Mastodon meaning no ad tracking or ad network surveillance.
Mastodon is a social media network made of nodes called servers or instances each running special software meaning anyone can run their own Mastodon instance (if they have a proper dedicated server). When you have your own instance it can be linked in the federation or remain private, so individuals or companies can have control over individual Mastodon servers.
The software itself is open source based on the social networking protocol ActivityPub which was developed by WWW Consortium.
While using Mastodon, people sign up for accounts with specific instances. Once logged in, you can view a local timeline (of posts from that instance only) or, if the instance is federated with others, see a federated timeline comprised of toots from people in other instances. Mastodon users can send messages to each other using their Mastodon account names that are similar to email addresses in that they feature the server address as well as the user name.
Error CausesOne of the most common errors encountered by Microsoft users upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 to Windows 10 is the Error Code 0xc1900106. Microsoft users experience a failure in the installation process. Either they will be notified that the installation process was ended but failed or that Windows is not able to install the update.
Error CausesMore and more Windows users are having trouble upgrading their operating system to Windows 10. There are a lot of errors being encountered by users and one of them is the Error Code 0xc1900106. This error is normally due to the misconfigured system files. If a Windows user encounters this error, most likely their device has some registry problems.
Fixing error code-related issues could be best resolved to do manual repair methods. Applying repair methods manually can help Windows users address the root causes of the errors they encounter, as well as apply definite solutions to rectify the issue.
Most Windows users can be able to implement manual repair methods themselves but there are some cases where help from a Windows professional is needed. If you’re not a very tech-savvy person and not confident performing the manual repair methods yourself, it would be advisable to seek help from a professional Windows technician who is knowledgeable enough to address the errors or problems you are encountering. However, if you don’t want to resort to seeking help from a professional, you can also consider using a powerful automated tool.
In trying to fix Error Code 0xc1900106, here are the following manual repair methods you can take:
net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc net stop bits net stop msiserver ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 catroot2.old net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver pause
Error CausesError CausesEver gotten an e-mail offer that seemed just a little bit too good to be true? Might’ve been a phishing attempt! These are everywhere and can come in many different forms.
So what’s phishing exactly, how can you detect it and how can you keep safe?
Phishing (pronounced like fishing) is a type of cyberattack that tricks the user into trusting the source and revealing sensitive information. Fishing being the perfect analogy, the bait is a legitimate-looking site, e-mail or file and when you take a bite, your identity, banking information and much more can be revealed and stolen.
Some phishing attempts are incredibly obvious, others are super elaborate. Like with most types of malware, cybercriminals have become extremely well-versed in phishing and anyone can fall for it. To help you recognize and avoid it, we’ll take you through a couple of phishing types and give you tips on what to do if faced with them.
This is actually the most common type of phishing. A cybercriminal creates an e-mail containing stuff like attractive offers, legitimate-looking attachments or links and makes it appear as though it’s coming from a trusted source.
For example, it looks like it’s coming from your bank or your favorite retailer. The logo looks legit and the structure of the e-mail seems familiar, so you might get tricked into clicking on whatever clickable content is in it.
Unfortunately this exposes your device to malware that hands your data off to the hacker, who can decide what to do with it further.
Like the above example, you could be approached with lucrative offers or links via text messages or social media messages. Typically, the messages seem relevant to the user as they will be made to look like they’re related to apps or services you’re using.
Voice phishing attacks are schemes that appear as though they’re coming from a credible number. Normally, you’ll get a call about something related to credit cards or taxes to get you into a state of worry, leading you to disclose personal information on the phone.
Spear phishing normally targets specific individuals within a company who are likely to have access to sensitive data. Spear phishers spend time collecting information they can use to reach out to the individual looking as trustworthy as possible. They’ll typically lead with something relevant, for example mentioning an upcoming company event, and make a seemingly legitimate request.
Whaling is a more elaborate form of spear phishing, which targets people in even stronger positions such as executives or high-value individuals. The ultimate goal is to get them to transfer financial or other sensitive information that can be used to compromise the entire business.
BEC, or Business e-mail compromise, is a specific spear phishing technique carried out via e-mail. While there are many ways this is done, most commonly you’ll see instances where the phisher poses as a CEO or similar executive, or as a lower-level employee in specific positions (e.g. sales managers or financial controllers).
In the first situation, the impersonator reaches out to employees requesting them to transfer certain files or pay invoices. In the second situation, the phisher takes control of the employee’s e-mail account and sends false instructions to other employees in order to obtain data and information from them.
There are many ways you can be aware and spot a phishing attempt. Here are some tips:
Those are some of the ways to identify and prevent phishing attacks. However, sometimes phishers disguise themselves a little too well or a misclick happens and there you go - you’ve been exposed to malware.
This won’t happen if you invest in powerful protection software from the get-go, though. A good antivirus program like Bitdefender will keep you safe from becoming a victim of phishing scams. In fact, it will protect you from malicious attacks overall.
Be it your household or your business you’re concerned about, there are a bunch of different packages and options available, providing different kinds of cybersecurity services. That’s the only way you can ever really be sure you aren’t at risk of a digital attack.
Have you ever been targeted by phishers and didn’t know that’s what it was until you read this article? Many can relate. Protect yourself before it’s too late!
intel's first gaming card that will hit the market soon has been shown in its innovation event, the Intel Arc A770. In its core ticks ACM-G10, coming with 32 Xe-cores and all the way up to 16GB of GDDR6 memory (the basic entry-level version will have 8GB of GDDR6). The card will support ray tracing and supersampling with Intel's XeSS.
This is Intel's first gaming desktop GPU and after testing with some YouTube channels it turned out that the card itself sits somewhere between nVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti and an RTX 3070 so it will still be low in performance compared with the new RTX 4090 or AMD's new RDNA3 upcoming lineup. But as stated this is Intel's first gaming graphics card and having this kind of performance is no small feat for the first-time product.
One thing that is really great tho and that is going for Arc A770 GPU is its price! The Limited Edition card will cost $329 which is at this moment most cheapest GPU currently on the market in that performance range. nVIDIA is between $500 and $700 for comparison and if Intel can hold on to its performance with almost half the price card could be a great hit among gamers. GPU itself will launch on October 12th.
